This was another gift we received last Christmas, along with the soup bowls in the same range. Le Creuset is a very reputable brand of cookware, and knowing how much I like baking we received a couple of these mini casserole dishes as a gift.

The RRP for one of these mini casserole dishes is £12, which is quite steep considering they are only around 10cm in diameter. Obviously they can be picked up cheaper than this if you shop round online and in sales. Debenhams store this range of goods, and they often have sale extravaganzas where you can pick them up for a fraction of the RRP. They also come in a set of three for around £29, which is better value than buying them separately.

Anyway, these dishes come with a lid, and have little handles at the side to pick up the dish. They are designed for cooking individual sized portions, which isn't something I often do to be honest, but I guess they would be ideal if you host a lot of dinner parties. The ones we have are volcanic (bright orange), but they are available in almost every colour you can think of! As they are part of the Le Creuset brand, they come with a five year guarantee, and are microwave/oven/dishwasher and freezer-safe. They are ceramic, and are scratch-proof, crack-proof, stain-proof and don't absorb smells.

The capacity of these casserole dishes is 0.20 litres, which isn't an awful lot. To be honest, they are more of a gimmick than a practical piece of cookware, as there's nothing I could cook in these which would be filling enough for one person. In our household, we have little concept of portion control, so if I'm cooking I tend to do a big pot of something and freeze the leftovers. These dishes are more for presentation purposes when serving at a party, for example they'd be good for soufflés or presenting food on a buffet, but in my opinion they're too small to even make individual pies with puff lids, which makes them quite limited in use.

The only thing I have used these dishes for so far is stewing fruit as a dessert, but even then I'd have preferred to use something bigger and then split the fruit into separate bowls. I guess these would be ideal for soufflés and things like that, but that's not something we make a lot of in our house. Looking around online, I've noticed there are cookbooks specifically designed to give recipes for these mini casserole dishes, so if you like the look of them but are not sure what to use them for, the book might be a good investment.

As with all cookware from Le Creuset, these are very easy to clean, and they retain their vibrant colour and shiny ceramic surface despite being washed in the dishwasher. They are really cute looking but just not functional enough for our kitchen. I would recommend them for people who host a lot of dinner parties, and like to make an impression with their presentation. For those who like substance over form, I'd probably buy something bigger.

(This review is also posted on Ciao under the username Gingerkitty)